Interview with Jeff Green by Harrie Gaywood

Q. Have you always lived in London?

A No. I was Born in Sydney but my home is in Perth, Western Australia, where I grew up until I decided to go travelling in Europe in 2001. I came to London in April of that year, without any real intention to stay. But found myself loving it here.

Q When did your passion for cooking start?

A I've worked in kitchens since I was about 15, as a kitchen porter in a local restaurant in Perth. Before that my passion for food went about as far as 'licking the bowl' when my mum was making cakes or biscuits. I've always liked eating, and I guess this led to a passion for cooking too.

The moment I decided that I would take up cooking as a career was when I was working for a Mexican restaurant called Acupulco Annies in South Perth as a kitchen porter. Like many other 18 yr olds I hadn't decided what career path I wanted to take. The chef I was working for at the time noticed that I was very interested in the food and quickly promoted me to commis Chef before suggesting that I go for a position as an apprentice Chef at the sister restaurant Santa Fe.

It was at Santa Fe that I met the most influential Chef I have known, Dean Blanchard, who mentored me, and gave me not only the practical experience but also the inspiration to become a chef and be proud of my career.

Q What’s your London cooking history

A As I said, I moved to London in April 2001 when I got my first job at a Restaurant called Penk's, in Queens park. It's a charming little bistro that had a really nice homely atmosphere. I was there for a year before deciding that I needed to find a job in a kitchen in the West End to gain experience in a busy central London restaurant and joined Christopher's in Covent Garden. After two years as a junior sous chef and sweating over the grill section I was promoted to Sous Chef at a restaurant owned by the same group, The Enterprise in South Kensington.

I stayed there for a year and then moved on to the Rex Whistler Restaurant at Tate Britain. I was the Senior Sous Chef there for almost three years. Had a job in an American steak restaurant in the city for a while, then the opportunity came along for a Head Chef position at Gilmour’s.

Q Where does your love of Modern British food come from and where does your inspiration for recipes come from?

A My love for British food came from my Aussie background I guess. Sunday roast, apple crumble, shepherd’s pies, fish and chips - these are all staples of an Australian’s diet just as they are here. I guess equally in the UK there are a lot more influences now with everyone becoming more aware of other cuisines. Most modern British recipes are really adaptations of French, Italian, Spanish and other cuisines from around the world. I think people realize now that the UK has great produce and that modern Chefs in the UK are able to adapt the ingredients in a way that is much more exciting than sticking to traditional methods.

I get my inspiration from trying to constantly question myself with everything that I do. I love to learn new cuisines and learn new skills in the kitchen. I recently did a course at the Bertinet Kitchen in Bath, to learn some bread making tricks. I’m a big believer in making everything on site in a restaurant, so I decided that we would make our own bread. I confess that I’m no expert in baking, so went on the course to improve my skills, and I should be able to pass them onto my staff too. Richard Bertinet is a great baker and someone who is very proud and passionate about what he does. I learnt a lot from him and now realize that there’s a whole new world out there for me in the art of breadmaking.

Q How important is quality to you?

A. I think choosing the right ingredients is of utmost importance in any restaurant. I look for well aged beef with plenty of marbling through the flesh. I believe the beef from Buccleuch has a great rich flavour only achieved through careful animal husbandry and at least 28 days of hanging, to really get a mature flavour.

Q How do you run your kitchen?

A. I'm not an iron fisted Chef. In fact I think I'm quite the opposite.

I like the staff to enjoy working and I think you get a lot more out of people if they wake up in the morning and look forward to coming to work. This means my team gets away with more goofing around than they probably should. I also like to get the staff involved in coming up with specials and giving them a bit of room for creativity. However, that's not to say that I never lose my temper. I think during the heat of a busy service with a full restaurant, it's hard to keep your cool 100% of the time. At the end of the day I'll do what's necessary to ensure all the food comes out with the quality and speed that I expect.

Q Do you have a favorite dish?

A. I'd say that's probably one of the hardest thing that a Chef could answer. But if I had one day to live, and had to choose my last supper. I'd probably say Mum's Lamb roast. I also really like a very simple Filipino dish called Arroz Caldo con Pollo, it’s a hearty soup made with chicken, rice and saffron. My partner Oliver makes it very well and nothing beats it on a cold winter’s night.

One of my favourite dishes on our menu is the potted shrimp. I’ve adapted a couple of recipes and come up with one that is tasty, but a little different from the traditional butter-block version. I also really like the treacle tart which appears on the dessert menu sometimes.

Q When you are allowed home how do you relax?

A. HAHA. Allowed home. That sounds about right! Hehe.

When I'm at home I spend most of my time looking after my dogs, Quentin and Georgia. Although they don't really allow me to relax much, they certainly bring me a lot of pleasure. I take any opportunity of good weather to have a BBQ out the back of my house, whether with some friends over or just me and Oliver.